Executive Voices for May 2004


Calling North Carolina Home
Differentiating our state's brand is key to sound economic development

By Stephen P. Miller

When Biltmore Estate began implementing sound business practices to achieve its mission of preserving the 8,000-acre National Historic Landmark in Asheville as a privately owned, profitable, working estate, the idea of combining business and preservation principles was a foreign one. In fact, many said it couldn’t be done. Several decades later, the business model we have created at Biltmore has enabled us to become a $100 million company with 1,500 employees. It turned out that good preservation is good business, and the disciplines are no longer considered such strange bedfellows.

In the same way, we North Carolinians need to create a vision for our future by preserving and building upon what is best about our state — the qualities that make us proud to call North Carolina home. Across North Carolina, we take great pride in our sense of place. We are known for our scenic beauty, genuine Southern hospitality, unique history, art and culture. We are also known for sound business development and a dependable, honest, diligent and productive work force. As demonstrated by the features on the travel and tourism industry in this issue of North Carolina, these attributes attract tourism dollars to our state; they also attract new businesses.

 But North Carolina business and industry, the business of tourism included, is at a critical juncture in identifying and preserving our distinctive differences, differences which represent competitive advantages in creating a shared vision of our future, and in implementing strategies to realize that vision. To meet that challenge, we must craft our own unique North Carolina “brand” and develop wise public policies to capitalize on the many opportunities created by an ever-changing economy. As ironic as it may sound, we need to manage change by preserving our diverse ways of life, nurturing our cultural heritage, remaining true to our values and protecting our environmental resources. At the same time, we must invest in our state’s future through creating innovative economic development strategies and a strong public education system. The business of preservation — the preservation of North Carolina and its unique identity — is critical.

North Carolina is suffering from job losses in the manufacturing sector brought about by massive changes in the global economy. But the tourism industry — along with healthcare, technology, transportation and trade, financial services, education and other professional and service industries — represents an integral part of our state’s economy, as well as one of the most significant opportunities for continued growth. According to a recent report by Wachovia’s Chief Economist Dr. John Silvia, North Carolina manufacturing jobs, between January 2000 and December 2003, dropped 21.3 percent compared with a national decline of 17.2 percent. Bad news? Yes. But look again. During this same time period, employment numbers in education and health services in North Carolina rose 19.4 percent, compared with a national increase of only 11.9 percent. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry rose 5.6 percent in North Carolina versus 4.1 percent nationally. Our state increased employment in the financial services sector by 10.2 percent, compared with only 4 percent nationally. So on many job fronts, North Carolina is faring well. Such success reflects the increasingly diverse nature of our state’s business community and should trigger a realignment of thinking about future job growth.

As one example, we should invest more in tourism, an industry offering a highly visible opportunity to define and promote the North Carolina brand, which in turn benefits all forms of economic development. Tourism provides jobs and generates tax revenues; it also supports the unique personalities of our communities and makes those communities attractive to new businesses. It plays a key role in providing services and quality-of-life enhancements to local residents — restaurants, hotels, museums, arts and crafts galleries, cultural events and festivals.

 Tourism is not the complete answer to our economic challenges, of course, but it is an important component of a more comprehensive approach. Increasing North Carolina’s share of the Southeastern tourism market by only one percent would result in nearly a billion-dollar increase in tourism revenue. Other states have recognized the benefits of tourism. Unfortunately, North Carolina has faded from a national leadership position two decades ago to 21st in state spending on tourism promotion.

The point is that the global business landscape is changing at an ever-increasing pace, and North Carolina will be left behind unless business and industry assumes a strong leadership role. We must explore innovative economic development strategies to diversify our state’s business portfolio, including further developing our tourism base. While we will not be able to revive many of the jobs we’ve lost in the last decade, we can and must plan for new jobs. We must support strong educational programs for all sectors of our society, at all levels, including elementary and secondary schools and our outstanding public and independent colleges, universities and community colleges. This means a renewed focus on training for a variety of industries, offering opportunity for growth and advancement, as well as retraining displaced workers.

In the end, it is about caring enough about our collective past — our people, our stories, our cultures and our natural resources — and enough about our collective future to construct a framework for the preservation of our way of life. Such an effort is well worth the role NCCBI serves as a forum for our increasingly diverse business community to engage in discussion, debate and dialogue, and to develop and promote thoughtful, responsible and effective public policies.

Stephen Miller of Asheville is senior vice president of the Biltmore Company and first vice chair of NCCBI.


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